Nikola made his way into the deserted Longcheng. He had waited two days before going in because he would rather not cause any more deaths. Summoning the Furies was excessive.

They weren’t worshiped here, in this corner of Earth. He had watched the smoke raise, and the scared soldiers cut down the fleeing civilians. An order from Emperor Han. The man couldn’t believe that the city had fallen and saw traitors everywhere.

General Lao had wanted to come with Nikola. It would be bad for morale if the army’s only and strongest mage was to fall in the city. Nikola had brushed his concerns off as politely as he could. Now that he had the complete soul of a phoenix at his disposal, there was nothing that could harm him any longer.

With a flick of his wrist, two corpses rose behind him. They had orange eyes, as if the Maggot was controlling them. But the phoenix was gone. His consciousness was somewhere between the Abyss and this plane of existence and his power, both the one as a phoenix and as a necromancer, was Nikola’s.

Nikola, send the corpses to scout ahead. Soon he heard the screeching of a large bird and the corpses were flung back to him. He looked at the direction from which they had come and saw the Furies standing by a raised platform. There was a single chair on it, chains around its armrests and legs.

“Is the Chanyu hiding here, and you need assistance finding him?” Asked Nikola. It was almost unheard of that the Furies stood trial, usually they just assumed the crime and dealt the punishment without the guilty party’s knowledge.

“Today is the day of your trial, Emerald Emperor.” Said Megaera. Nikola was pulled by an invisible force and made to sit on the chair. The chains snapped around his wrists and ankles, and he felt as if there was a lock on his magic.

“Ladies, I am the one who called you here. I gave you the name and…” Tried Nikola, but Megaera smirked at him.

“You must know that the number of people who wished to see you judged over the centuries became so big we could even ignore the call of the name,” said the Fury, and Nikola paled. They couldn’t kill him, but he had read more than one case where the family of the convict took the fall. He struggled at his restraints, but to no avail.

“You murdered, partook in ritualistic cannibalism, were untrue and cruel to those around you! You have it coming!” Snapped Allecto as she took out a book. It was very thick, and Nikola imagined that it contained a list of all his crimes during the years.

“For Longcheng alone, we are in the right to make your eternal life so miserable that you will find a way to end it by yourself. But you are Samyaza’s chosen Emperor. You know the name and gave us the mandate to judge. And so, you will be given a fair trial,” said Tisiphone.

“And who will be my judge? You three have already decided my fate!” Spat Nikola, finally giving up on the restraints. The Furies looked at him with pity.

“You killed millions,” said Tisiphone, the avenger of murder.

“You are hated by millions and for a good reason,” spat Allecto, lost in her anger as usual.

“If I only had your power, the world would have been judged trice over!” Said Megaera, her jealousy shining through.

“I will make sure you three die and rot,” was Nikola’s response. Laughter was theirs.

“You won’t be judged by us, wretch,” hissed Allecto and ghost appeared out of nowhere. One of them was the Maggot. Nikola groaned. He had just gotten rid of that darn child!

“You will be judged by the ones you wronged most. Today, on the day of your birth,” said Megaera smugly. Nikola blinked. He wasn't aware that today was his birthday. He didn’t even celebrate it anymore. Ever since Bjorn took his life on that cursed date, Nikola had done his best to forget it.

“May the first witness of the crimes of the Emerald Emperor step forward. His sister, the princess Nadja,” said Tisiphone.

Nikola blinked back tears as his little sister climbed the steps of the platform to stand in front of him. She was as beautiful as he remembered, but she looked pale and could barely stand.

“I begged you to protect my son,” said Nadja, tears falling down her ghostly face. “I shouldn’t have to, but I still begged. And what did you do? You sent him to the land of the thousand volcanos, and he was sacrificed to a Naga!”

Nadja spat the last part and Nikola closed his eyes.

“It wasn’t my intention for him to die,” he spoke. He didn’t remember his nephew all that well. He remembered that he didn’t avenge him. By the time the news of his death had come, Nikola was too busy growing stronger.

 He had taken over the land and driven the Naga in question to the depths of the ocean, but it was because the demi-human was in his way. It had nothing to do with his nephew.

“You don’t even remember his name. The last and only thing I managed to give my baby, and you let it be lost to history,” Nadja backhanded him then, and he was surprised that it hurt. She disappeared and Cas took her place.

“I adored you. You, who always had money for charity and never left the throne room until the last petitioner said his peace,” said Cas of Troy, hurt coloring his voice. Nikola looked at the face of his former paramour. The feelings he had had for him were very muted now.

“Why did you bring me back when you knew the consequences?” Screamed Cas. Nikola winced as he remembered all the death the failed resurrection attempt had brought.

“I thought I was in love,” it sounded empty even to Nikola’s ears, but he still said it. Cas chuckled bitterly. Two hands dug into Nikola’s shoulder, and he looked up at Cas’s hateful gaze.

“You are the vilest thing existing,” said Cas then, but the hurt these words brought to Nikola had nothing on his next ones. “And yet, I still love you. I can’t rest in peace, and you moved on nicely. You have a horde of children. You even wrote of Penemue’s spawn as mine. I curse them.”

Nikola’s eyes become as big as saucers as he began to shake his head at the grinning ghost.

“Cas, curse me! Don’t curse my children. They are innocent!”

“I curse them with misfortune. I curse them with illness. I curse them with anger. And may the Furies destroy my spirit for it,” the Trojan walked to the three sisters, and they each took out a dagger. Nikola screamed as they proceeded to stab Cas for his crime against the innocent. A ghost laughed at that. It was Rin. She ran up the stairs as Cas finally disappeared, tails dancing behind her.

“My, so even a bastard like you can make people mad with love? How nice. Maybe I too have a chance. Oh, right. No, I don’t. I AM DEAD!”

Nikola wasn’t looking at the raging kitsune and wasn’t listening to her. He was imagining how to best punish the Furies. Didn’t the Maggot say there was a phoenix here? Yes, there was a Direspark in his memories. If he could only reach the bird, he could sick it at the sisters. If only…

“Oh, so I am not relevant enough to be listened to?” Snapped Rin when she realized she was ignored. “Well then, I curse you! May the necromantic magic you took from the Maggot eat you from the inside out!”

“You are not powerful enough to curse me with this,” said Nikola as he tried to force his magic to respond to him. He felt a small spark and the three sisters paled.

“None of you can judge me! I can only be judged by the creator!” Said Nikola as the spark spread and turned into a raging inferno. The Furies forced the ghost back to where they have come from and focused on keeping the chains around Nikola from braking. He melted them instead and forced the Furies on the same platform he had been.

“Now you are the onesrs5 who stands on trial,” said Nikola. Cas has paid the ultimate price. His curse would take hold. But he had paid the price to the Furies, and if there were no Furies, then there won’t be any curse. Or at least that was what Nikola thought.

Summoning three mirrors in front of the sisters, he conjured up a chair for himself and watched. Three new Furies stepped from the mirrors, identical to the chained-up ones.

“You doomed people to poverty in your jealousy, Megaera,” said the twin of Megaera. It conjured a sword and approached the Fury.

“What are you going to do to me?” Screamed Megaera to her copy.

“Die with honor, sister,” said Allecto, her head bowed.

“And you? Your anger drove people to madness!” Screamed the copy of Allecto, it was too wielding a sword.

“And you…” Began the copy of Tisiphone, who grinned savagely at it.

“Have done what you are about to. Pray that no one judges you and be done with it,” said Tisiphone seconds before she was decapitated. Nikola watched as the heads of the Furies rolled down next to his feet. He gripped Allecto’s and threw it to the copy of Allecto.

“Undo the curse of Cas of Troy. It was done in anger.”

The copy of Allecto nodded and spoke.

That, which was said in anger, let it be undone.

That, for which the price was paid, let it be undone.

That, which sought to hurt the innocent, let it be undone.

“It is done, master,” said Allecto and bowed. Nikola paled at that. He would rather not be responsible for the actions of the Furies. But then again, if he used them to further the war effort, then this war would become all the easier.

“Find me the flag of Longcheng. And the phoenix Direspark,” the phoenix was strong, even if the Maggot thought otherwise. He would gift it to Wei Caihong and finally cure his husband of vampirism. Then they would be equal, in magic as well as in status.

The Furies glided to search for the two things, and Nikola looked down at the two remaining heads. It would be wasteful if he just let them rot. The Chanyu had two sons. One Wise King of the Left and a second born son. And Nikola had two heads.

Standing up, he began to draw a ritual circle with the blood of the two Furies. When he was done, he spoke.

May there be one survivor once this is, though.

May there be two states of Xiongnu, locked in conflict.

May the war be over by an arrow and not by a saber.

When the heads disappeared, Nikola was certain that the curse has taken root. Soon after, the three Furies came with a golden cage with a phoenix inside and a tattered flag.

“Judge the people of Xiongnu. Be there as they wake. Be there as they dream. Show no mercy. But above all, I wish that you to give the Chanyu and his family no rest.”

The Furies bowed down and left the flag and the caged phoenix for Nikola to claim. Taking off the cape of Allecto he draped it over Direspark’s cage.

“You better turn to ashes soon,” He told the phoenix as he remembered his trial. “Because if you don’t, I will force you.”

Just another sin to add to his many already made. Had he been anyone else, he would have thought better of it. But he was Nikola, the Emerald, and he will rule the world again. Even if it was by pulling the strings of puppets.